Beauty: Grey pride

Do you think salt-and-pepper is the last word in style, or would you rather dye than reveal your roots — and your age? Yasmin Mills splits some hairs

It’s official: the brown market is booming. Following the example of the supermodel Gisele and Hollywood stars such as Renée Zellweger, girls are clamouring for this winter’s brunette locks. As a natural brunette, I am delighted to be so fashionable, but one thing they never advertise on the packaging is the horrors of early grey. Yup, true brunettes have a far less glamorous issue to deal with, and that is the “white fright”. Early greying is our Achilles heel.

I recently watched Richard Gere compering a charity awards show and noticed that his silky dark locks had been replaced by a mop of fluffy white candyfloss. The grey, I can report, has done little to dent his steamy sex-god status. And Tom Cruise, starring in Collateral a few months ago, gave us a sneak preview of how sexy he is still going to look in 10 years’ time, even with